


A Breath in the Wind

by TheAdamantDaughter



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Heavy Angst, Zutara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-21 20:23:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7402576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAdamantDaughter/pseuds/TheAdamantDaughter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He was the mischievous one, the playful one… always trying to make her laugh or smile, doing whatever he could to lift the worry from her brow. He'd found many ways to do this over the years - a brush of his lips on the back of her neck, a twist of his fingers in her hair, a pass of his thumb over the apple of her cheek."</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Breath in the Wind

He was always there - following her through their home, chasing her down the sidewalk, lulling her to sleep on warm afternoons. She loved him. She loved the quiet whispers, the soft caresses, the life and light that he carried wherever they went.  _  
_

He was the mischievous one, the playful one… always trying to make her laugh or smile, doing whatever he could to lift the worry from her brow. He'd found many ways to do this over the years - a brush of his lips on the back of her neck, a twist of his fingers in her hair, a pass of his thumb over the apple of her cheek.

He kissed her nose in the winter, mussed her dress in the summer, brought the smell of peonies and the buzz of bees in the spring, and in the fall…  _in the fall_ … he was hushed and gentle. He rustled the leaves, he crisped the air, he colored the earth with reds and golds. He desperately,  _desperately_ , used her favorite season - the season she fell for him, the season he fell for her - to breathe new life into her lungs.

His attempts never failed, despite her being the serious one, the sad one… Every touch, every sigh, every hushed  _I love you_  - he brought pink to her cheeks, a curve to her mouth, a flutter to her heart. In those moments, she felt like she was flying. She felt like the world was falling away from her feet and the sun was within her grasp, but every time she thought of the pure, brilliant light pouring down from the heavens, the mirage of wonderment and joy disappeared.

As always, when she realized he would forever be out of reach, when she learned that she could never hold him or feel him except for those brief, stirring breezes, the happiness leeched from her features and gasping sob caught in her throat, "Stop doing that, my darling."

And, as always, his sighing whisper followed,  _Why, my love?_

She never had an answer for him.

Even now, kneeling in the grass, surrounded by wild oaks and lilting bird song and warm sunshine - the first signs of Autumn upon her - she didn't have an answer for him.

_My gifts to you, my love,_ he murmured, running his hands through low hanging branches, showering her with a symphony of muted gold.

"I don't want them."

_What do you want, my love?_

"You."

_You have me, my love._

"You're just a breath in the wind."

He hushed her, consoled her, whipped her hair around her and she turned her face to the building gust, closing her eyes as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. He kissed them away.

The touch wasn't enough, it was was never enough, but it was all she had.

"Don't stop, my darling."

_Why, my love?_

"Because I don't want to forget you."

The air stilled, the billowing wind slowing to a smooth caress along the exposed skin of her collarbone.  _Then I will never stop._

She nearly smiled and tucked a few wild strands behind her ear, only to have him knock them loose. At this, she did smile, and when she was ready, she stood, gently setting the bouquet of yellow roses in front of the gravestone - gold had always been his favorite color.

"I love you, Zuko."

_I love you, too, Katara._

**Author's Note:**

> There's something about the wind and the loss of loved ones. I like to imagine that the people we lose come back to us one way or another - whether it's in our dreams or in the wind. Hopefully, you caught that with this little rambling. Even though she's lost him, Katara finds Zuko's touch and love in the breeze. *cries*


End file.
